Obesity is one of the last acceptable forms of discrimination – but should it be a protected characteristic in the workplace?

The UK’s future competitiveness, we’re told, will be based on our success as a “knowledge-based” economy with brainy and IT-savvy workers creating and selling know-how.

But what if your value as a worker was only skin deep? What’s the reality of being a foot soldier in the so-called “aesthetic labour market” where how you look is at least as important as what you know?

Several service sector businesses have come under critical scrutiny in recent years because of the demands they have made of their workers’ appearance and standards of personal grooming.

The Disney organisation has made a number of changes to its rules about facial hair, for example, prescribing what is a “good show” and a “bad show” for male employees.

In 2016, the Dorchester Hotel was criticised for over-prescribing how workers should groom their hair, nails and make-up. Only last week, as reported in The Independent, Pakistan International Airlines told its cabin crew to lose weight by the end of January or face being grounded.

I think that employers setting rules about weight crosses an important line at a time when we are trying to tackle the stigma of obesity.

It still represents one of the UK’s most urgent public health challenges and is the main focus of National Obesity Awareness Week as many of us resolve to shed a few pounds after the festive break. In the UK, one in 25 children ages 10-11-years old are severely obese, and by 2035 the number of adults who are morbidly obese is forecast to double.

Obesity in the working age population is a less obvious area of focus but it is also on the rise. Some studies suggest that up to a third of working people are obese. Public Health England estimates that there are 16 million days of sickness absence each year due to obesity and being overweight at a time when the UK’s productivity record remains low by international standards.

In a work context, negative stereotypes about obese people – in which they are often seen as lazy, lacking in self-discipline, less competent, less conscientious and unmotivated – persist.

These stereotypes have translated to disadvantages for obese employees, with evidence that they have lower starting pay, less hiring success and lower co-worker ratings. Obese workers also report being targets of derogatory comments, denied promotions or fired because of their weight.

Forty-five per cent of employers say they are less inclined to recruit obese candidates. While obese people themselves are less likely to be regarded as able leaders or to have career potential, more likely to experience bullying and harassment, with obese women in particular less likely to get customer-facing jobs.

Many people still regard obesity as the last acceptable form of discrimination, as I discovered last year when I was misquoted as saying that overweight employees should be allowed to come to work an hour late.

To overcome stigma we need to challenge our own prejudices first.

What is clear is that there is no single cause of obesity, nor is it a “choice”, yet many of us (including GPs) are quick to make judgements about the character or willpower of people living with obesity which cloud our views about how to support them or, indeed, whether they “deserve” support at all.

Employers can help overweight or obese employees to make changes to their lifestyle, especially if they are also being supported by a healthcare professional.

Simple (and increasingly common) workplace health promotion initiatives such as healthy eating campaigns and exercise interventions such as pedometer challenges or walking meetings can also make a difference.

For a while now UK employers have to take note of the Kaltoft ruling of the European Court of Justice which sets out the circumstances in which obesity and being overweight can be regarded as “protected characteristics” under equalities legislation.

This does not go as far as saying that obesity is a disability, but it does suggest that a health impairment caused by obesity (such as osteoarthritis, type two diabetes) requires workplace adjustments to be covered by legislation.

In most cases, having open, supportive and non-discriminatory work culture and HR policies means that employers won’t have to confront the details of Kaltoft.

But at least the courts have laid down a marker which means that those living with obesity can go to work with the reassurance that there is now a recognition that their employer has a duty of care to support them to live with and manage their condition.

The rules of the aesthetic labour market are changing – look at the growing acceptance of tattoos, for example. But in some areas, such as obesity and being overweight, stigma and discriminatory practices are more persistent and will need more effort to overcome.

Doctors, employers and overweight workers themselves all need to play their part. But the starting point should be empathy and support rather than condemnation.

Stephen Bevan is director of employer research and consultancy at the Institute for Employment Studies